According to the Daily Mail, Scholes criticised the atmosphere inside the Etihad Stadium, while Ferdinand also questioned the number of empty seats via Twitter.

The source reveals that City fans groups have branded the pair’s comments a ‘disgrace’ when not everyone can afford tickets. The attendance for the game was just 37,509, around 10,000 short of the ground’s current capacity, which is due to rise to 62,000 in the coming years.

Scholes said City’s European nights did not have a ‘special feeling’ while Ferdinand, who is now at QPR, used social media to question why the club need to expand their stadium.

Andy Savage, who runs the website MCFCForum.com, felt these were cheap shots from wealthy footballers. He said: “I took Rio Ferdinand to task on Twitter. He was taking the mickey out of the empty seats at the Etihad last night.

“‘He is living in his own bubble there. Some people are living hand to mouth and don’t know where the next penny is coming from, and he’s criticising them for not filling the stadium when the tickets are £35-plus.”

However, Richard Burns, who contributes to the Typical City blog and the Blue Moon podcast, added: “Scholes said the atmosphere isn’t as good as other English clubs on European nights. I think there is a point in that.”